No contagion feared after typhoid scare at New Orleans airport

No risk to passengers after ill woman was taken off the plane, officials say

An American Airlines passenger who complained of vomiting and nausea, forcing Flight 1003 to be held for nearly two hours
on the tarmac at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport Monday evening, is not believed to be infected with anything contagious, including what was first feared to be typhoid fever, city and airport officials said. "The passengers were released because neither the CDC, state
or local officials believed there was risk to other passengers," said Ryan
Berni, spokesman for Mayor Mitch Landrieu.

Louis Armstrong International Airport

The aircraft left Miami at
4:31 p.m., bound for New Orleans, and before it landed at 5:27 p.m. a woman
complained to the flight crew that she felt sick. The crew alerted the New Orleans airport, which dispatched
emergency personnel to prepare for the sick passenger's arrival. Based on the woman's symptoms, airport officials notified
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Airport officials kept the remaining 145 passengers and six crew members on the aircraft
until receiving clearance from the CDC to release them at 6:50 p.m.

An East Jefferson ambulance transported the woman to a
nearby hospital. Her condition has not been released.

The aircraft was cleaned, was cleared to return to use and left the airport on its scheduled route with new passengers, said airport spokeswoman Michelle Wilcut.

American Airlines passenger Mark Steffan said he was returning
to New Orleans with his wife and two children from a family wedding in
Key Largo when, 15 minutes before landing in New Orleans, the captain announced there
was a medical emergency on board and asked everyone to remain seated.

More than 45 minutes after landing at 5:30 p.m., the captain
made a second announcement, Steffan said, this time explaining that the
CDC was taking a blood sample
from a woman who feared she might have typhoid fever.

"He said we're all in this together, the flight crew, the attendants,
everyone aboard this plane is in the same situation," Steffan said by
telephone while he was still stuck on the tarmac. "It seems like they
acted quickly, and so far everybody is taking it in stride. Everything
is, I wouldn't call it jovial, but there hasn't been one outburst."

The captain made a third announcement just before 6:50 p.m.,
telling the passengers on American Flight 1003 that they were free to go
but to be sure to wash their hands and to be alert for any symptoms.

Capt. Peter Lindblom with the New Orleans Fire Department confirmed there was an incident with the flight and that he sent two firefighters to assist.

Typhoid fever
is a life-threatening illness, according to the CDC. There are about
400 cases each year in the United States and 75 percent of these happen
while traveling internationally. Typhoid fever remains common in the
developing world, where it affects about 21.5 million persons each year.

Symptoms can include a high fever, weakness, stomach pain, headache
or loss of appetite. In some cases, patients have a rash of flat,
rose-colored spots. Typhoid fever is contracted by eating food or
drinking beverages that have been handled by an infected person.
Typhoid can be prevented and can usually be treated with antibiotics.